Ask Dr Xiang Jun: Why Do I Feel Tired After Acupuncture?

Post Acupuncture Tiredness is like Post Workout Fatigue

As mentioned before in the blog post of Can I bathe after acupuncture, acupuncture is equivalent to having an internal qigong exercise and doing one acupuncture session has effects similar to running for four kilometres. The circulation and metabolism of the body will increase during and after acupuncture.

If someone has never done exercise for a long time, resuming the exercise regime will put them in a state of soreness and tiredness post exercise.

Similarly when someone has poor circulation and metabolism to start with, resulting in the various different forms of illnesses and health conditions, doing acupuncture treatment will put the body system in a state just like that of post exercise. Hence one will feel tired and fatigued after acupuncture as if it was after an intensive exercise regime.

 Read more about Can Acupuncture give you Energy here.

Blood Flow Redirected

Acupuncture will unblock the areas that are having stagnations and blockages and nourish those areas with fresh blood and oxygen. Because of that the blood circulation will be redirected and spread to the areas that needed nourishment and reduce some blood flow to areas such as the head and brain. This will cause the person to feel tired and sleepy.

Feeling of Tiredness is actually Feeling of Relaxation

The feeling of tiredness can be rather a feeling of relaxation as acupuncture has calming effect on the body as it shifts the body from a fight-and-flight sympathetic mode to a resting parasympathetic mode. The state of relaxation is one which many may not be used to, especially for those people who are uptight and stressed most of the time. Instead of easing into relaxation, acupuncture will reset the system to relaxation and people may misinterpret this feeling as tiredness. Read more about Adrenal Fatigue and how Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine treat it here.

 

The feeling of tiredness after acupuncture is not definite for everyone as only certain groups of people may experience it depending on their health conditions and illnesses to start with.

If such tiredness is experienced, it will last usually for about one day after acupuncture. After the period of tiredness if there is any, a fresh new surge of energy will be experienced as the body is rebalanced and recharged with better circulation and nourishment.

TCM(Traditional Chin Med), TCM Wellness, Basics of TCM, TCM and ScienceXiang Jun LimDr (TCM) Xiang Juntcm, acupuncture, herbs, traditional chinese medicine, tired, fatigue